Doctors at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston gave an update today on wounded East Baton Rouge Deputy Nick Tullier’s condition. Michelle Southern has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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Louisiana has one of the biggest wage gaps between its richest and poorest residents, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Alexandria Police announce the arrest of two people in connection with a stabbing death. Cpl. Wade Bourgeois says the victim was discovered when police received a call Tuesday night.
Authorities have yet to release the identity of the stabbing victim. Bourgeois says their investigation led them to 54-year-old Daniel Mikkelson and 35-year-old Natarsha Meredith, who were brought in for questioning.
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State Police say a West Carroll Parish woman has been arrested in the shooting death of her husband. A television report says the victim was killed a day after his birthday. Senior Trooper Michael Reichardt says they responded to a call of a shooting in Epps shortly after midnight Tuesday.
Reichardt says 44-year-old April Sollars has been charged with second degree murder. He says she was booked into the West Carroll Parish Jail without incident, and the investigation is ongoing.
Cut 6 (08) “early stages”
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A report by Bankrate.com finds Louisiana is the fourth worst state for drivers. Data Analyst with the company Claes Bell says the survey looked at a broad range of data to determine the ranking. He says Louisiana was ranked 49th for insurance cost, which helped to secure the low ranking.
Bell says the high number of auto fatalities contributed to Louisiana’s high ranking. He says another negative factor was a motorist’s average commute time.
The report found New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, and California round out the bottom five states. But Bell says Louisiana did well in terms of low repair costs and the Bayou State ranked positively in one other category.
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Doctors at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston announced today that wounded East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Tullier is fully conscious and making strides in his recovery. Dr. Sunil Kothari, says they believed Tullier would be in a vegetative state when he arrived, but they quickly learned that he was minimally conscious.
Tullier was one of six officers who were shot in an ambush in Baton Rouge last July. Kothari says no one ever recovers completely from this kind of brain injury, and at this point Tullier’s mind and body are out of sync. Clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Katherine O’Brien says they identified several cognitive capacities Tullier can demonstrate.
O’Brien says he can also communicate with nonverbal signals and respond to commands. Physical therapist Julie Welch says Tullier has severe weakness throughout his body. But she says he spends three to four hours a day doing physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Tullier’s father, James, celebrated the announcement with the doctors, saying Christmas has come early.
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A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds Louisiana has one of the biggest wage gaps between its richest and poorest residents. Director of the Louisiana Budget Project Jan Moeller says the Bayou State has the fourth highest rate of income inequality in the country. Moeller is not surprised by the finding.
Moeller says this large wage gap is a reason why Louisiana’s economy has trouble growing.
Moeller hopes the state legislature will look to address the large gap in wage earners. He says it will take higher income individuals paying more taxes and a higher minimum wage to help make a difference.
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